The parts that waxed poetic about the landscape were boring, but the parts that described people, events, actions, and thoughts were great. ( )

An anthology of writing about the poles, taking in a wide variety of sources. Naturally in an anthology, it can be hit and miss, but other than a couple of science fiction extracts, I enjoyed them all.

Having read a bit about polar exploration and travel, either from the "heroic age" or very recent, it was good to have some of the gaps filled in, both in time, and from the point of view of different writers (for example, the people living there, or environmentalists).

Overall, an enjoyable read and a smart boxed edition to look good on my shelf. ( )

A collection of pages from journals, archives, short stories, memoirs... Some very interesting, some rather dry stuff, and some repetition as well. A bit disappointing for me. ( )

Edited by Elizabeth Kolbert (the Arctic) and Francis Spufford (the Antarctic), this collection of fiction and nonfiction selections was published in 2007 to commemorate the fourth International Polar Year, which occurred from 2007 to March 2009. Knowing very little about Polar exploration myself, I found this a wonderful introduction to some well-known explorers as well as some perhaps less familiar scientists, writers, and explorers. Each half of the book was approximately 200 pages long, containing twenty selections on the Arctic and nineteen on the Antarctic, each including one selection by the editors themselves.

The selections covered a variety of subject matter, from wife-swapping to scientific exploration to reaching the Poles for the first time. The writings of the explorers interested me most, from Peary's description of his expedition to the North Pole to Scott's diary on his doomed return trip from the South Pole. As with any collection, the selections were a mixed bag with some that appealed to me more than others. My favorite Arctic selection was that of Fridtjof Nansen, a Norwegian who tried to get to the North Pole by drifting in his ship - his descriptions were lovely and evocative, almost making me want to travel to the Arctic myself, especially to see the Northern Lights. In the Antarctic, I loved the selection about penguins, written by Diane Ackerman. While I read the selections, I took note of those books I wanted to seek out in full, as well as keeping my computer nearby to look up what crampons and sastrugi look like. The infrequent typo distracted me from time to time, but overall this is a fascinating glimpse into the Polar regions that whet my appetite for more. ( )

I've been meaning to start reading about the Arctic/Antarctic for a while. My research has been hampered by the fact that I didn't know where to start (despite the Idiot's Guide sitting on my bookshelf) and just plain laziness. But when I saw this book in Barnes & Nobles' Holiday Catalogue, I knew I had to have it. I marched to the store, found there only copy, and then debated: it's a hard cover, do I really want a hard cover? Then, a magical thing happened: I flipped the book over, and there was the cover again. Wait, what? So I flip the book over AGAIN, and finally understand: one half of it is devoted to the Arctic, then you flip it over for the Antarctic. It's a flip book!

Well, that lovely gimmick sold me right then and there. And the reason I started reading it right away was because I'm doing research, and reading about other peoples' experiences (real or fictional) in these kinds of conditions would be a vast help.

It was. But let's focus on the book. It's a mix of travelogues, essays, short stories and novel excerpts, some fiction, some not. One thing I would like to note right away: in Amazon's product description, which comes from the publishing company's product description, it's mentioned that there's writings from Jon Krakauer and Ursula K. LeGuin. This is not true, so I'm really puzzling at who wrote this and why it's posted there. In the link below, I've listed the authors who contribute to the book so that if you're interested, you'll know exactly what you're getting into.

Obviously, some chapters were dryer than others, but the interesting thing is that the Arctic section really seemed focused on the people, particularly the culture of the Eskimo, whereas the Antarctic section was really focused on the expeditions. From this collection, it sounded like travel in the Antarctic was far harsher than in the Arctic, and that may be true, or it may be a case that the essays selected for the Arctic simply weren't as harsh. Overall, I found the Arctic section to be far more intriguing, though the latter chapters of the Antarctic half were very engaging. Those chapters that were diary excerpts detailing expeditions were sad to me in a way that I couldn't articulate. Something about man's need to claim uncharted land for their countries just irks me, but that didn't diminish the overall enjoyment of the book.

Coming from someone who hasn't done a great deal of research--nor traveled to--either of the poles, I was glad to find that this book makes for a great starting point. Some excerpts were enough to make me look up the original books on Amazon, and now I've got a handy list for even more research, and that's something I look forward to, even though I'm really not sure when I'll get around to it.

So if the polar regions interest you, give this book a go. The cover art provided really doesn't do the cover justice: the actual cover (which I can't find online to save my life) is actually white with blue-green detailing the compass rose. I think the print is positioned differently as well. Just so you know. ;)

For the list of contributers, please click here: http://calico-reaction.livejournal.com/52925.html ( )